Two
by search for the leprechaun
Summary: It's about fighting yourself.That's all I know about this story so far!


"Steed!Come on!What are you waiting for?"  
  
Mrs Peel was clad in a bikini,ready for a swim.Steed was lying on the beach with a huge towel wrapped around his body.  
  
"I'm cold."  
  
A slight breeze was blowing but the sun was shining.  
  
"Don't be silly!Give it a try.."  
  
"I did.I'm telling you the water is cold.I don't want to catch pneumonia."  
  
"You just put your toe in it!"  
  
"As far as I'm concerned,that is more than enough!"  
  
"Oh!You're such a fraud!It was your idea in the first place!"  
  
"I only wanted to see you in a swimming suit,Mrs Peel!"  
  
Emma spilled some sea water on him.She kept laughing.Steed got up and pushed her in the water.Emma grabbed his foot and he fell in the water too.They were both lying on the sand now and the waves were gently caressing their bodies.Steed was on his elbows planting soft kisses on her chest.She put her arms around him.She could feel his strong muscles as she was stroking his back.  
  
"Happy?"  
  
He asked.  
  
Emma gave him a teasing glance but didn't answer.  
  
"I love you ,Mrs Peel."  
  
His hands slipped on her thighs.  
  
"Aren't you cold,Steed?"  
  
She brushed her lips on his and they shared a deep and long kiss.Steed managed to whisper:  
  
"Not any more.."  
  
A big wave came and they were both lost in it.When Steed opened his eyes again,realized Emma was long gone.He rubbed them and looked around him.Nothing.  
  
"Mrs Peel!"  
  
Was she all right?  
  
Suddenly,he spotted her.She was far away from the shore,swimming like a fish, going deeper and deeper.He was waving at her now.  
  
"Come back!"  
  
He looked at the sky.It was gray,now.A storm was on the way and the sea appeared to be angry.Had she lost her mind?  
  
"Mrs Peel!"  
  
It was obvious that she couldn't listen to him.Sometimes, he wished he could bring her to her senses.Well,it wasn't his fault if she wanted to kill herself!Steed spread his towel on the sand and was ready to just lie down and rest when he felt the first drops of rain on his forehead.Abandoned and also wet!That was too much.Without losing any of his charm,he opened his umbrella and tried to read the morning Times.He was searching through,when an article caught his attention.It was a piece on a painter..a female painter called Enid Hendry.There was a picture of her and also a picture of the best of her paintings.Two women holding umbrellas chatting with two men in a park,in the country.Some other people passing by,children playing.A set of high mountains surrounded by sunset light..waves crushing on them.Green and amber mixing with blue.That was probably the Highlands.It was very beautiful.The interior of a room...a young lady sitting on a chair,wearing a dark blue velvet dress, looking out of a window and a pigeon sitting on her right shoulder..a large bouquet made of orchids and roses on a small table nearby.The way this painting was lit was amazing.Another one with a cat chasing a mouse inside a greenhouse.Another one showing a family.The father and the mother,holding each other,sitting under a big oak.The mother was reading a book and a little girl was trying to distract her.There was also another girl of the same age,hanging from the tree above themAnother one with a mermaid sitting on a rock,playing with her locks and talking to a group of fishermen.The sacrifice of a male angel.Blood rolling on the groundHis female partner was looking from above..a single tear stained her cheek.Oh..it touched him.The next painting was about two lovers again.The man's face was buried in the woman's neck and his left hand was caressing her soft breast.Her long,blonde hair fell on the cushions behind them.Her rose cheeked face,thrown back, was twisted betraying the pleasure and pain she was feeling.His pelvis was buried in her round thighsSteed noticed how tense his noble body looked,the curves of his back which was slightly bent..perfect.Their bodies were covered in a scarlet sheet.Steed blushed.It was a bold woman this Enid Hendry.This painting was made more than thirty years ago!He imagined Emma and himself in their places.It had been almost a year since they met but..nothing yet.It was then that he realized that something was dripping on his newspaper.It wasn't raining that hard.  
  
"Steed!"  
  
"You're spoiling a man's only pleasure."  
  
"Only?"  
  
There was a naughty smile on her lips.  
  
"The only one..so far!"  
  
"What if it is worth the wait?"  
  
Steed patted the spot next to him.The way the water drops were rolling on her body was mesmerizing.Mrs Peel took a large flower patterned towel out of her bag,wiped her body,threw it over her shoulders and sat beside him.She was pale and her lips were purple.Steed was slowly caressing her back.  
  
"You're shaking."  
  
"I'll be all right.I just need some time to warm up."  
  
Steed pulled her closer to him.  
  
"John.."  
  
She snuggled in his arms.Steed placed his head on hers.She smelled like the sea.  
  
"I missed you."  
  
He said.  
  
"I'm here."  
  
Steed kissed her forehead..her temples.She leaned her head on his chest.She was still shaking.He kept stroking her back.  
  
"Steed.."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Should anything happen to me,I want you to go on with your life."  
  
"Nothing is going to happen to you.Do you hear me?Nothing."  
  
"I want you to promise me."  
  
"I can't."  
  
"You can and you will."  
  
"What's gotten into you,all of a sudden?"  
  
"I just want what's best for you,darling."  
  
You shouldn't be hooked on me, Steed.  
  
"What if something happened to me?Would you go on with your life?"  
  
"Eventually,yes."  
  
"I see.I thought I was your eternal lover!!"  
  
"Let me tell you a secret.They DON'T exist.They can only exist in a frame..a painting..a book..a film."  
  
"They don't exist for you!"  
  
Steed snapped at her.Emma laughed.Oooh..She enjoyed torturing him..so much.Steed gave her a tender glance.He had already forgiven her.  
  
"Hungry?"  
  
"Starving."  
  
"Do you want to go home?"  
  
"I think I saw a small restaurant on our way here.It's just a few miles away."  
  
"Off we go,then!"  
  
"Off you go,Steed!"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Could you fetch me some pasta darling?Could you?"  
  
She cast a warm,pleading glance at him.She was hanging by his lips.  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
"Sunbathe."  
  
Emma broke their embrace and started spreading a gray liquid on her arms and thighs.  
  
"There's no sun!"   
  
The sun came out of a bunch of clouds,all of a sudden.Steed was defeated.  
  
"All right..I'm going but.."  
  
"But?"  
  
Her voice made that one word sound like a hundred.Deep..passionate..soft.Steed drew her to him and kissed her gently.  
  
"I want to know all about you."  
  
"Down to the last detail?"  
  
There was an ironic hint in her voice.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"That's not possible,I'm afraid."  
  
"Why?Are you afraid of me,Mrs Peel?"  
  
Emma hesitated for a while...then she whispered:  
  
"There is a poet who says that love is the fear that binds us."  
  
He was smiling.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You are not going to give me any spoilers!"  
  
He looked devastated.  
  
"Spoilers?"  
  
Her soft brown eyes were wide with surprise.  
  
"Spoilers on the mysteries of the female nature!"  
  
Emma laughed.  
  
"I don't think that the female nature is a mystery for you, Steed."  
  
"Don't forget that I had to carry on the family tradition.The Steeds were famous for their conquests."  
  
Her eyes were glistening.In that leopard leather swimming suit she was wearing ,she looked like a dangerous cat.  
  
So you do like the challenge,John Steed...but there are no losers or winners in a war.  
  
"The Knights were famous for their power of will."  
  
The one who conquers will be conquered in the end.  
  
Steed was smiling again.The "Emma Peel"fortress wasn't about to fall.Not yet.He was looking at her.  
  
"Don't let time pass.Don't waste it."  
  
His words must have upset her for she squeezed his palm gently.It wasn't just a game for her.Steed put on a pair of black trousers and a shirt and left.Emma laid her body on the warm sand.She closed her eyes..She liked the noise the water made.It had stopped raining but the waves were so big now that they were reaching her.The wind was caressing her body.She was feeling..she couldn't put it into words.It was quiet..noone else was on the beach.Who would want to swim on a rainy day,in September?Only them..Them.As if they always existed together..as if they would go on forever.It seems that they existed,like the sea.She had lied to him earlier.She was afraid of someone.Herself..that the beast who lived inside her would never be tamed.It wanted to LIVE.With or without Steed..beyond him,beyond anyone.It was strong.Could love appease it?Emma felt tired.She had been swimming for more than an hour.Soon,she was asleep.  
  
A shadow approached her.It was getting bigger and bigger.A human presence,standing over her, watching her chest going up and down,her eyelashes slightly trembling..   
  
"Emma..We meet..at last!"  
  
It was just a whisper but there was so much hatred in it!  
  
The sea was so close..the waves exploding on the shore.Dangerous waves.The Atlantic..the bottom full of sharp cliffs.It would look like an accident.She fell asleep and the sea claimed her.Nobody here to save her.Such a shame..but a charming death.Lost in the waves like a mermaid..like Aphrodite.The mysterious presence grabbed Emma's feet and started pulling her gently.She stirred,obviously annoyed but didn't wake up.The murderer stopped dragging her for a while,waiting for her to fall into unconsciousness again.A few more inches left...Then, the shadow vanished swiftly.Whoever that person was left no footprints on the sand.First,a small wave crushed on the shore and after a few minutes a big one followed and swallowed Mrs Peel.  
  
She thought she was dreaming.She was inside a washing machine..She couldn't breathe..had no control of her body..rolling like a rock..noise..rocks rolling around her.For the first time in her life she was paralyzed with fearHer body kept crushing on the shore...It hurtPain took away the last traces sleep had leftIt wasn't a washing machine.She was drawning!Mrs Peel was struggling to get some air..her head popped out of the water for a while.Huge masses of water were hitting her..the one after the other.She swallowed hard.She wasn't prepared to die like this.What the hell..she wasn't prepared to die at all!First of all she had to get away from the shore.If she was caught in the turmoil she would suffocate.There was a risk of course.The wind could draw her in..with no coming back.She dived..trying to pass through the waves.They were pulling her towards the shore.Emma was thin but fit.She had to do it.He loved her so much..He would be devastated.What about his career..his life.She used all the strength there was left in her body and broke free.She looked around her..blue..just deep,endless blue.At this point,the waves were just pushing her up and down and she could easily breathe.It was raining again.A sharp sound pierced the gray sky.The bottom beneath her trembled.Lightening..She was cold...yet she wasn't.She was in Steed's arms.They were lying on a thick carpet,in front of his fireplace.He was reading her "The four quartets" by T.S.Eliott..."In my beginning is my end.."..or was it vice versa?She wondered if that was true.  
  
Steed was carrying two small parcels to his car.Oh my!That kind of weather could ruin their pic nic.Well..it was kind of ..romantic!Like an old Hollywood movie.Their meals smelled nice,although he would prefer to have salmon instead of pasta.Never mind..It was just a small country restaurant.He got in to the Bentley and tried to start the engine..to no avail!Maybe it was soaked.Steed had no idea about cars..at least about the mechanical aspect of them.He left everything to Mr.Griffin,a well known engineer in London, and Jimmy,his assistant.Odd...the Bentley was in Mr.Griffin's garage a few weeks ago.On the other hand..he shouldn't be surprised.It was an old car, afterall!Mrs Peel would have to wait.In this way, she would appreciate her meal much more..his services too!Steed slapped the car door and headed to the restaurant again.  
  
This chapter just popped out of my head.I intend to finish my other story,but as I 'm going through a terrible writer's block I thought that working on something else would be nice.Well,what do you think?Any kind of feedback will be welcome. 


End file.
